Speed-changing mechanism.



B. BESKOW. SPEED CHANGING MBCHANISM.

i PPLIATION FILED APR. 5, 1906. 905,637. Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. BESKOW. SPEED CHANGING MBGHANISM.

y APPLICATION FILED. APB. 5, 1906. 905,637. Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BERNHARDY BEsKoW; or sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

srnnncmnemeamcmmsm.

To all whom 'it 'may concern:

'Be .it vknown that 1,. BERNHARD. Biisxow,A

citizen of the United States, residing atSan Francisco, in the .county of SanFrancisco and State of California, haveinvented. cer'- tainnew anduseful Improvements in Speed- Changing Mechanism, of which .the .following is a specification. i

My invention relates to controlling devices' for speed changing mechanism for automobiles and the like. i

vOne object of the invention is to provide means by which theflywheel clutch used in connection with the sliding gear transmission can be automatically released and as gradually as desired engaged when changing from one rate of speed to' another. When releasing the clutch, the motords also autolmatically throttled down, so all racing of thelmotor, when under no load, is entirely avoided.. This automatic device for releasing the clutch will guard against the strippingof gears, when the car is operated by an inexperienced driver, who may .not remember tlie rule, that whether. on the level, up hill, or reversing, the clutches should always be entirely disengaged before attempting a change of speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for-automatically applying the brake before changing from slow speed forward to reverse, or vice versa.

A further object is to prov1de an alito- 'inatical devicefor keeping lall gears out of mesh, when driving 4at the highest speed.

When drawn into Contact. again in changing' from high speed to intermediate, the gears.

. are dead at first and 'consequently can be shifted without any severe strain on the gear teeth. A v

The dierent operations are all performed .through one lever, thus dispensinl with one foot pedal and one or-moresideevers, .the

advantages of Y which are obvious. The lever, 'in' my construction, when drawn back as far as it will go, will cause the motor to run the `machine-l backwards, butwhen it is pushed forward beyond a certain limit it will cause the motor to run the machine forward Aat the slowest rate of speed and, thereafter as its position is forwardly changed, it will bring about an increase in the rate Ofspeed at which the machine will be moved until the highest, rate of speed is reached. and in every .case proper movements of the clutch, throttle and brake-Willbe automatically atspecication of Letters Patent. i Abpiicaaon mea Apre s, 190e. seriarNo. 310,112.

PatentedlD'ec. l',I

tendedlito. 1.The mechanism for accomplishing this is'very simple and is embodied inthe accompanying drawings inwhich:

Figure lisa top .planview of the gear case 6o partially broken away, showing themainland countershaft and gears in connections .therewith and operated by they controlling. shaft, and the leversactuated by said shafts. Fig. 2 is a broken end view .of the gear case, lying 65 on one of its sides. Fig. 3.is a side elevation r in natural position. Fig. 4 to Fig. 11 inelusive are diagrammatic'illustrations of the diHerent positions of the controlling lever, and the controlling shaft and theleversactuated thereby. 'l'he operating lever being on the right side of Figs. 4 to 10 and/on the left side of Figs. 5 to 11. Fig. 12 is' a side elevation of the rack. Fig. 13 is a top plan., view ofthe same. Fig. 1,4 is a side elevation 75 of Olpe of the pinions, which engages' 4with :the rac l .Referring to the drawings 1 indicates the driven shaft and 1 the driving shaft; y2 the countershaft, .and 3 the casing in which 80 said shafts vare mounted in the. ordinary manner. y

One end of the `.driven shaft is provided with. a universal joint 4, which .is connected with the drivingaxle, notV shown, in .the ordinary manner. .The driven shaft 1 is connected withthe driving shaft 1 Within the casing bya male and female Vjoint 5. Outside of the casing and opposite the universal joint the shaft 1 Acarries a clutch 90 member 6 of any approved type, which is rigidly connected therewith, the one shown in the drawings being provided with two yielding arms, to the free ends of which, .f dogs or levers 7 are pivotally secured. 'The 95- free ends of the-levers 7 are moved outward by the insertion ofthe inclined face 8 ofan g annular jaw or wedge member 9, which is loosely mounted on the hub 10 of the-clutch member 6, and which thereby gradually ex'- 100 .pands and forces the face of the yielding arms' or -cams against the inside rim-of the flywheel 11, which is rigidly connected With the axle 12 of 'any suitable motor, not shown.

The wedge .member 9 is normally held 105 I l25 With' cam grooves or tracks 34 and 35, and

, 55 ion 24 in engagement with the pinion 14.

are two s ur gears, 15 and 16, and directly connecte with each of said gears are sleeves 17 and 18, provided with annulargrooves 19 and 2() respectively, the sleeve 17 being inte- 5 gral with the male part of joint 5. ltigidly connected with the countershaft 2 are pinions 21, 22 and 23 and slidab ly mounted'upon itis a s ur gear 24, provided with a sleeve 25, the atter having an annular groove`26.

Suspended underneath the pinion 21 and engaging therewith, is an idle pinion 27, by

means of which the spur gear 16 is caused to rotate in the opposite direction from the shaft 1, as shown in Fig. 11 thereby causin'g the direction of the driving mechanism to be reversed.

Mounted upon suitable bearings on the casing 3`is` a shaft 28, one end of which is preferably enlarged or provided with a hub 20 in which are formed cam grooves or tracks 29,

.30 and 31 and at the other end it is provided with a segmental pinion 32. Loosely mounted upon the intermediate portion of the shaft.

is a sleeve 33, one end of which is provided the other end is formed into or provided with a segmental pinion 36, which is similar and adjacent to the pinion 32.

Vertically mounted in suitable bearings on opposite sides or the casing 3, are two rock l shafts 37 and 38, each of which is provided at its upper end with anarm 39,- which carries at its free end a roller 40, which rollers engage respectively with 'the 'cam grooves 29, and 34. Secured to the portions of the shafts within the casing are two yokes, preferably formed with upper and lower arms 41 and 42 respectively, Whicharms are provided with projections 43 that iit in the annular grooves 19 and 20, of the sleeves 17 and 18.

Pivoted on a support 44 in the bottom of the casing 3 is a lever 45, one arm of which is provided with a projection 46that fits in the annular groove ofthe sleeve 25. The other arm is adapted to be engaged by a projection 47 carried on the lower arm of the yoke, that is xed to the rock shaft 37. The parts are so arranged, preferal ly by pivoting the 'lever nearer to the sleeve than to the projection, as to cause the joint to be opened before the gear 24 engages with the pinion 14. A spring 48 presses against the lever 45 and therely normally holds the pin- Pivoted on topof the casing 3 are levers 49 and 50, the one end of each of which eX- i tends toward the shaft- 28 and is provided l with a roller 51, said rdlers engaging rei spectively with grooves 30 and 31 on the enlarged part of shaft 28. inother lever 52 is also pivotally mounted on top of the i casing, and the end that extends toward the shaft 28, is provided With a roller 53, which roller engages with groove 35 'in sleeve 33.1

Supported in suitable bearings 54 and 55 I on the side of the casing 3, is arod 56 which, at one end is loosely'connected with the outer end of-le er 49, which is preferably prov ided with a crank bend. A projection or feather 57 on rod 56 tra/els in a corresponding slot in the bearings 55 and keeps the rod 56 from turning. Another rod 58 supported in a bearing 59 is provided at one end with a crossbar 60, which engages loosely with one end of rod 56 and also with the free end of lezer 52, said free end being also preferably provided with a crank bend. The other end of rod 58 is connected with a le er 61, which is proted at 62 and pro*A ided at its free end with a projection 63, that fits in a grooe formed in the periphery of the annular jaw or wedge member 9.

Pifoted'on le1l er 61 at a point 64, is a rod 65 which is connected with the throttle of the motor, not shown, in any suitable manner.

The outer end of le er 50 is connected with ai' suitable brake 67 by means of rod 66, which is preferably dixided, and the parts are held together by a tension spring 68. On top of the casing 3 is further secured a guide 69, on

= which slides a rack 70, see Fig. 13, consisting of two portions 71 and 72, the teeth of which engage with the pinions 32 or 36 as the case may be, while the remaining portion is flat or smooth for engaging with a flat fac'e 73 formed upon each of said 'pinionsl rl `he two portions'of the rack are arranged side by side and re ersely to each other, and the teeth of each portion is a trifle `less than half the length of the rack, thereby lea ing a smooth space at the center of the rack.

The pinions are of such size that the teeth formed upon a portion of the periphery of each will substantially equal the number of teeth on its portion, whereby each pinion will be gippn only a partial re elution by the mo'A ement of the rack 70 a certain distance,

for each pinion is so arranged relati e to its segment, that the last tooth of the segment engages with the last tooth of the pinion, and the further mo ement of the rack in that direction will cause the flat or smooth portion the rack without further rotationof the pinj lon.

When the rack is mo ed in the opposite direction, said pinion will remain stationary until its teeth are engaged by the toothed portion of the rack, which will cause its rotation until the opposite end of the rack is reached, when the pinion will ha e rotated as far as it can go and its flat face 73 will ha4 e been brought into engagement with the lat face 75 of a projection 76 at the end of the rack.

By arranging the two segments opposite to each other as heretofore described, and arranging the two pinions to correspond theree with, it isevident, that when one of the pinions is being actuated by the teeth of its portion the' other pinion will be locked against rotation by its iiat portion being engaged at the fiat portion of the rack.- For a .'ery short f distance at the center of the rack, both pinl v notches, as there are changes of speed, and if desired an additional notch for the'neutral point between referse and slow. The le .er is located at any coni'enient point of the 'vehicle, preferably adjacent to the side of the seat for the engineer or chauffer.

- From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the rack is mo `ed in either direction by means'of the operating le er, the pinions and cam groo4 les operated thereby will 'be rotated in one direction or the yother according as thele er is m0 .ed forward or back; In the drawings Fig.l 1 and Fig'. 4 the parts are shown in the position they occupy, when the le er is set to drin-e the machine forward at its highest rate of speed.` In this position motion is transmitted from the shaft 12 of the motor through the flywheel 11, clutch member 6 shaftV 1, andmale and female 'oint 5to shaft 1 and through the uniwvers joint 4 to the dri ing aXle in the usual manner, which will dri'xe the machine for-- ward at the highest rate of speed.

By moying the lever 77 backward from sald position to the osition shown in Fig. 5,

` the rack -70 will be a so pulled backward, and

the toothed portion`72 thereof, which is in engagement with pinion 36, will cause a par! tia rotation of said pinion and of sleeve 33 1n the direction of the arrow. This move-4 ment of the,slee.ve is transmitted through groove34, arm 39, and roekshaft`37, to the arms 41 and 42 on said shaft thereby separating the male from the female part of joint 5. At the Sametime the-groove 35 will have caused the lever` 52 to take the position shown in said figure. The cross bar on rod 58 will be compelled to follow the motion oflever 52 by the spring 13 inside the iiy-' wheel, which is pushing the wedge vmember 9 out of contact with the free ends of dogs 7 and thereby releasing the friction clutch 6. The motor being thus free would race, but at the instant the wedge member 9 is pushed out by means of the spring 13 the projection 63 fitting`in the groove on the periphery of said wedge member forces the ylever 61 backwards and with it the rod 65, which being in connection with the throttle, closes sai d throttle to a degree previouslydetermined and thus reduces the speed of the motor. The gears being out of mesh, or in their neu tral position, countershaft 2 is dead or non- 14 being also free, no power is transmitted rect from the momentum of the machine, and, therefore, the gear`24 can'be thrown into mesh with pinion 14 by the lever 45 without danger of breaking the teeth of either.

`By pulling lever 77 lfurther backward to position shown in Fig. 6, the following actions are executed through the motion of rack 70,-pinion 36 and sleeve 33.Y The roller 53 on lever 52, following in the groove 35,

previous position and with it the rod 58.

is consequently pulled over, which will cause the lever 65 to reopen the throttle and thereby increase the speed of the motor. projection 63 ofarm 61, fitting in the groove on sleeve 9, forces said sleeve forward and causes the inclined face 8 to raise the face ends of the dogs 7, thus gradually increasing the friction between the clutch and the flywheel. At the same time lever 39 causes such a movement of rockshaft 37 as to slide `the Vsleeve 17, and with it gear 15, towards pinion 23 and into mesh therewith. When the clutch has been expanded so as to be able to transmit power from the motor, the teeth of pinion 23 and gear 15 are in full mesh, as shown in said Fig. 6, .without there having ing this movement and at all other times exposition shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the gear 24 vis held in mesh with pinion 14 by means of the spring 48. By moving the lever 77 to the position shown in Fig. 7, the relative po' sition pf the controlling shaft, gears and lesition of same members in Fig. 5. The pinion 36 has now'completed its revolution in the direction of the arrow and its Hat face 7 3 is engaging with thev fiat portion 74 of the 'portion 72 of the rack. The flat surface of pinion 32 having at the same time reached the' limit of the smooth portonj 4, vits teeth are ready to engage with the teeth of the portion 71 and any furthermovement of the' vand the enlarged part thereof to revolve with the pinion-32 in the direction. of the arrow.

with the its neutra position at the intermediate portion of said groove, as shown in Fig. 7, to the end of the groove, as shown in Fig. 8, which j will carry the opposite end of the lever 39 as l far as -it can go in that direction. This will cause such a rotation of the rock shaft 38 as i to cause its arms 41 and 42 to slide the spioir been any danger of ripping the teeth. Durvers will be neutral or identical with the po lever 77 backwards will cause the shaft 28.

rotating, and the shaft 1 that carries pinion thereto, either direct from the motor or indi'- brings the outer end of lever 52 back into the The lever 61', which is connected with rod 58;`

TheI

cept when the elements are standing in the The roller at the end of the lever 39 engaging glroove 29, will thus be moved from gear 16 into mesh with pinion 22, as shown in said Fig. 8. At the same time that lever 39 is moved, lever 49 will be actuated by groove 30 and by means of the rod 56 will pull the crossbar 60 backwards and with it rod 58, which, in its turn will, by means of lever 61, Wedge member 9 and dogs 7, engage the Hy Wheel clutch 6 and transmit power t0 the driving axle as heretofore described, thereby moving the machine forward at its slowest rate of speed.

By moving the lever 77 further backward or to a perpendicular position as shown in Fig. 9, the neutral position is .again .reached and the position of the various members are identical with the position of same members in Fig. 7, except for groove 29, which has been given a half rotation.

If it should be desirable to reverse the direction of the machine from running forward at.

a slow rate of speed it is'absolutely necessary to bring the machine to a stop before attempting to change the gears, the neglect of which would cause the ripping of the teeth. For

this purpose the groove 31 is so'shaped that no motion is transmitted to lever 50, until at the proper moment between'neutral and reverse, when the roller 51 on lever 5() strikes a tooth or projection in groove 31 which swings lever/50 into the position shown lin Fig. 10 and causes it through rod 66 and spring 68 to actuate the brake 67.

If for any reason the brake should be brought into action before the roller had reached the top of the tooth, the spring 68 will allow the further movement of the roller until it has passed the top of the toothl As thev action of'the tooth'is very sudden there will be only a slight change in the, relative positions of the members that are actuated by the grooves 29 and 30, but when the roller' has descended to the straight path of the groove 31 and the brake has been released,

. the roller on the arm 39 will have been carriedto the other end of thev groove 29, as shown in Fig. 11, and thus caused the arm 41 tov slide the gear 16 into full mesh with the pinion 27, which, being actuated by pinion 21, will bring about a reverse motion of the driving axle through the universal oint 5, and drive the machine backward; the fly wheel clutch having been engaged through the movement of lever 49, rods 56 and 58and lever 61 and the throttle opened by means of rod 65.

In the construction as shown and above described, the changes of s eed are limited to four but it is obvious that t e number thereof depends only upon the number of pinions and gears that may conveniently be placed within the. gearvcase, Which gears in turn would call for a corresponding number of grooves and levers and pinions on the controlling shaft'. And further'it `may be also mentioned that if it should be desired to reeoaeaw 1 duce the inertia of the main shaft when changing from intermediate to low speed, it can be accomplished in identically the same manner as is done in chan ing from highlto intermediate. It would on y be necessary to connect the universal joint with the main shaft by meansof a clutch of the type used for the flywheel or by a male and female joint, one part of which would be slidablel on the main shaft like the joint for the high s eed gear. The mechanism for shifting the. c utch or joint would be identical with the mechanism for operating the present flywheel clutch. Then, simultaneously with the release or engagement of the' flywheel clutch the universal joint would also be released or engaged and` in the moment of' lchanging from one rate of speed to another,

nol motion would be transmitted to any gears either indirect by the momentum of the machine, or direct by the motor, until the rel 'spective gears are in perfect mesh, when the `of transmission, or any other system, and I reserve the ri ht to make all such changes as will comewit in the scope of my invention. f

What I claim is:

1. In a'controller for speed changing devices, a driving shaft, a driven shaft a separable joint for connecting said shafts, a counter-shaft, sets of ear Wheels on said shafts, one of the whee s of one of said sets being on the driving shaft and the other one on the counter-shaft, a lever for moving part of said wheels including said one on the counter-shaft, to change the speed of the driven shaft, a motor shaft, and means connected-'with the 'leverfor disconnecting the driving shaft from the motor shaft and opening said joint during the movement of the wheels to change the speed of the driven .ble joint connecting the driving shaft to the driven shaft a clutch'at the end of the driving shaft, a counter-shaft, gear wheels on said shafts, a motor shaft 4alp moving said Wheels to chan e the speed of the driven shaft and contro ling the jomt, 1 the 'clutch 7and the motor shaft durin said change, a rod for connecting two o said levers, means for moving all of said levers, and a lever for controlling said means.

3. In a controller for speed changing devices, a driving shaft, a driven shaft fa separable joint connecting the shafts togetherga clutch on thedriving shaft, a counter-shaft urality of levers for-120 gear wheels onsaid shafts, a motor shaft with which the clutch engages, a plurality of leversv for moving said Wheels to change the speed of the driven shaft, and also for controlling the joint, the clutch and the motor shaft during said change, tWoV of said levers being connected, a member provided with two cam grooves, one of which controls the shifting.

of the Wheels and the opening and closing of the joint and the other one controls the motor shaft and the clutch, and a lever for moving said member. l

4. In a controller forvspeed changing devices, a driven shaft, gear Wheels for changing the speed of the driven shaft, a plurality of levers for moving the Wheels including an engine controlling lever, two members, each provided with two cam grooves, one of the grooves of each member controlling the wheel shifting levers and the other groove controlling the engine controlling lever, means for moving said members and locking one While the other one is being moved, and a lever for controlling said means.

5. In a controller for speed changing devices, a driven shaft, gear Wheels .for changl -ing the speed .of the said shaft, a lurality of levers for controlling said Whee including the motorcontrollng lever, two of which are rovided with extensions, two rods forl oosely connecting said extensions with the motor controlling lever, means for movin said levers and a lever for controlling sai means. I

6. In a controller for s eed changing de-` vices, speed changing mec anism, levers for controlling the speed changing mechanism including a motor controlling lever, two rods, one of which is connected With the motor controlling lever and provided with a cross head, and the other one has each end bent at an angle, one of which ends is adapted t0 be engaged by the cross head and the other end is adapted to be engaged by one of the other levers, another of said levers being adapted to engage the cross head, means for controlling the movement of said levers, and a lever for controllin said means.

l 7. In a controller or speed changing devices, speed changing mechanism, a plurality 0f levers for controlling said mechanism a motor controlling lever, brake mechanism, a plurality of rotatable, grooved members for controlling said levers, one of the grooves of one of said members being adapted to actuate the brake mechanism, means for rotatin said members, and a lever for actuating sai means,'whereby the brake is automatically :lpplied when the speed is changed from 0W to reverse.

In testimony whereof I have affixed m signature, in presence of two Witnesses, this 28th day of February 1906. y

vB ERNI-IAQRI) BESKOW. Witnesses:

F. M. BART'EL, H. BURT. 

